It's the battery, it's always been the battery. For all the goodness of a lead-acid battery, which is found under the hoods of virtually every petroleum powered car, they never were all that practical for electric powered vehicles. They were heavy, and to power something the size of a car, you had to have a trunk load and then some. One battery can weigh upwards of 50 pounds. Can you imagine how much weight is in a trunk load?
Therein lies the problem, because even though you have an efficient electric motor, dragging a couple of thousand pounds in batteries around is not very efficient at all. Additionally, a typical lead acid battery's life time will be dramatically shortened if it is discharged fully for a number of times. After 300 to 500 charge cycles, you have a battery that is less than an ideal source of power for an electric car.
Lead acid batteries were the bane of the electric car. It's like being so close yet so far. Originally, electric cars outsold all other cars combined, as they were quiet, easy to use, and perfect for the city. They had a roughly 20 mile per hour top speed and about the same 20 miles in range, for city cars, they couldn't be beat.
With the coming of urban America and the electric car starter in the early teens, gas powered cars with more range and more speed at about one third the cost of an electric, spelled the death knell for practical electrically powered vehicles. Why? It was simple, using then current battery technology, the electrics just couldn't keep up.
Modern electric cars have the same problem. Zap electric cars, one of the few mass produced electric car companies that have been around for awhile, but for all their light weight and innovation, still rely on battery technology that is over 100 years old. Granted, lead acid batteries are somewhat improved, but look at the performance rating of a Zap car.
Up to 40mph with a 25 mile range. Not much better than a vehicle made in the early 1900s, and Zap cars weigh considerably less using lighter weight materials.
Behold, the breakthrough battery is the Lithium-ion battery pack. Proposed in the seventies and finally made practical in 2002, it is lightweight, yet packs an incredible amount of power inside. It can be molded to fit any space that is practicable, and therefore does not have to be confined to standard areas like the trunk or beneath the car.
The newly marketed Tesla Roadster, which is one of the fastest cars in the world, is completely electric, and uses Lithium-ion technology. It is pricey, but this type of technology doesn't come cheap, and besides, as Lithium-ion batteries become more mainstream, the price will drop.
As good as these batteries are, they are getting even better. Toshiba just announced a major improvement in charging these wonder batteries, that will give it 90% power in 5 minutes of charging! That's as fast or faster than putting gasoline in your tank!
All of this news is cutting edge, new wave, and a true revolution!
Source: BecauseAction.com
